


Who Am I To Stand In Your Way?

by TheWeepingMonk



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Feelings Realization, Getting Together, M/M, Online Dating, Post-Season/Series 03, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:22:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25599502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWeepingMonk/pseuds/TheWeepingMonk
Summary: "So, uh, before you go I was wondering if you could help me with something," Eddie says, shifting on his feet - uncharacteristically nervous."Of course, man, what do you need help with?"Eddie rubs at the back of his neck. "I...I need your help setting up a dating profile."Or In Which Buck Helps Eddie With His Dating Life And Things Get Messy.
Relationships: Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)/Original Female Character(s), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 55





	Who Am I To Stand In Your Way?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk man I watching Jacksepticeye and I got an idea
> 
> Title taken from a song of the same name by Chester See. 
> 
> Any spelling/grammar mistakes I missed in editing are just gonna have to exist.

Buck's playing with Christopher in his room when Eddie appears in the doorway. He pretends not to see him in favor of helping Chris add a lego to their castle. He often catches Eddie watching them like this, but he never calls him out on it because then he might stop, and Buck liked it when Eddie watched him with that soft look in his eyes.

"Okay!" Eddie exclaims after a moment. "Bed time!"

Christopher turns to look at his dad with an adorable pout Buck would never have the willpower to argue against. 

_"Oh no,"_ Eddie says quickly. "That's not gonna work on me. I already gave you an extra half hour to play with Buck."

Chris sighs dramatically. "Okay..."

"Want me to read you a story?" Buck asks.

Chris perks up. "Yeah!"

Buck helps him to his feet and Chris scrambles to get in bed, suddenly eager. He asks Chris what book he wants and grabs it from the shelf. 

Eddie sits on the end of the bed, while Buck slides in next to Chris. He reads for about ten minutes before Chris is fast asleep.

He smiles down at the boy as he closes the book. He carefully extracts himself from the light hold Chris has on his waist and tucks him in gently. He risks a light kiss to Chris' forehead, and slowly backs out of the room. 

Eddie turns off the bedside lamp and switches on Chris' nightlight before kissing his cheek and following Buck out.

They go to the living room where Buck left his shoes, and after he's put them on, he notices Eddie staring at him. He quirks his brow in silent question and Eddie looks away quickly. 

"So, uh, before you go I was wondering if you could help me with something," Eddie says, shifting on his feet - uncharacteristically nervous.

"Of course, man, what do you need help with?"

Eddie rubs at the back of his neck. "I...I need your help setting up a dating profile."

Buck blinks at him in surprise, then he smiles. "Wow. You're finally ready to get out there, huh?"

"Yeah, uh, that whole thing with Chris' teacher made me realize that I'm capable of looking at another person in that light again, but...well I haven't dated anyone since I met Shannon and I don't really know how to use dating apps. I'm out of my element here, man." 

Buck nods in understanding. He claps Eddie on the shoulder. "No shame in asking for help. Give me your phone and watch the master work."

Eddie snorts, rolling his eyes fondly, but giving Buck his phone all the same. They sit on the couch so Buck can work comfortably, Eddie turning on the TV for background noise. 

"So are you looking for an actual date or a hook-up?" Buck asks as he finds the dating app section. 

"An actual date."

"Okay so that eliminates..." Buck mentally checks off a few dating apps. "I don't want to assume, but no to religious based ones?" 

Eddie nods. "I'm not opposed to religion, but I don't want to use it as a pretense to date someone."

Buck nods, sifting out more including the exclusively LGBT ones, already knowing Eddie wouldn't want them. He settles on Spark, an old reliable of his when he wanted to actually take someone out for a nice dinner. He clicks download and while he waits he sifts through Eddie's camera roll for a profile picture.

Eddie, fortunately, had a healthy dose of vanity and gave him a lot of decent options in between pictures of Chris, his family, the firefam and of course the ones of himself, Buck and Chris. 

Buck opens Spark as it tells him it's been installed and speedruns through the login. He picks a picture Eddie took at the firehouse recently - he's wearing the black tank top he usually sports when he's working out, and an easy smile on his face, the sun hitting his hazel eyes and highlighting the brown in them.

Buck fills in his basic information then slides over to Eddie and instructs him to pick his interests. 

Eddie stares at the choices for a long moment and at first Buck thinks it's because he's trying to decide, but then he notices the furrow of Eddie's brow. 

"What's wrong?"

Eddie glances at him, looking away just as quickly. "I, uh...I don't know what to pick."

"What do you mean?"

Eddie shifts uncomfortably. "I mean that my life revolves around Christopher and being a firefighter and I don't really _do_ anything."

Buck frowns. "Well what do you when Chris isn't around?"

"Clean. Run errands. Fall asleep watching TV. Hangout with you."

Buck stares at him, dumbfounded. 

Eddie catches him and groans, tossing his head back. "God, I'm so _boring_. I can't go on a date! I have nothing to talk about!"

"Eddie, you're not boring, you're just a single dad," Buck assures quickly. He grabs the phone back and looks at the suggested interests. "And hey, you kick my ass in Mortal Kombat all the time at the station so I'll select video games and...and _reading_! You read to Chris all the time and I _know_ you like Dr. Seuss more than you pretend."

That last part gets Eddie to lift his head at least, so Buck continues.

"And _sports!_ You're _way_ too into them sometimes."

That earns him a reluctant smile.

"And last but not least, exercising!" Buck says cheerfully. He taps Eddie lightly on the chest. "See? You're not boring, your interests are just a part of your daily routine is all." 

Eddie nods, and Buck hands him back the phone, allowing him to type out his bio. They work together to write a decent one telling a little about himself and what he's looking for. 

Buck watches as Eddie starts swiping, frowning as he keeps swiping left. "Uh, Eddie, you're supposed to swipe right so you can talk to someone."

"I haven't seen anyone I'm interested in," Eddie explains as he swipes left again.

Buck blinks at him. There were at least four girls that Buck would've swiped right on himself so far, and he can't believe Eddie is being so picky. 

Eddie finally swipes right on a pretty blonde, and confetti flashes on the screen as the app announces that they're a match, and they can now message each other. 

Buck decides then that it's time for him to head home, and gets to his feet. "See you tomorrow."

Eddie stands, locking his phone. "Yeah...listen man, thank you for helping me with this."

Buck smiles. "No problem. I said I'd have your back, didn't I?"

Eddie smiles too, and then walks him out. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Eddie doesn't mention having any luck on Spark over the next few days so Buck kind of forgets about it until they're playing games in between calls and Chimney walks in with Eddie's phone and says, "You left this in the bunk room. It's been buzzing like crazy."

Eddie takes his phone, but doesn't seem interested in seeing why it's going off. 

Chimney eyes him curiously. "It doesn't _Spark_ your interest to check your messages?"

Buck rolls his eyes at the pun, but he's curious too. "Still haven't found anyone who's caught your eye?"

Eddie sighs, sinking back into the couch. "Not really."

"Why not?"

Eddie shrugs. "I don't know. I've talked to a few women but there just hasn't been a connection."

"That's what a date is for," Chimney points out. "The only point of the app is to introduce you to someone."

"But if they don't interest me through text, they probably won't interest me on a date either," Eddie says.

"Maybe, but some people are just bad at texting," Buck interjects. 

Eddie sits up straight. "Or maybe I'm just not ready to date anyone." 

Buck frowns. "You haven't even set up a date yet and you're ready to throw in the towel?" 

"What's going on with you?" Chimney questions. "You're in the prime of your life, you should be out there having fun and meeting new people. And don't you _dare_ say Christopher because we all know how much that kid loves you and that he would want you to be happy."

Eddie rubs at the back of his neck. "It's just...every time I think about setting up a date, all I can think about is everything that might change because of it." 

"It's a date, Eddie, not a marriage proposal," Chimney says. "If you like the person, great, have a second date, and then a third. Just take it one step at a time."

"Wow," Buck says. "That's actually great advice, Chim."

Chimney shoots him a look, clearly offended. "I'm more than just a pretty face."

Buck chuckles, and Chimney leaves with a pat to Eddie's shoulder and a look at Buck that clearly said _alright best friend, you're up._ He looks at Eddie. "He's right you know."

"Yeah...He's got _great_ abs." Eddie jokes, clearly deflecting.

" _Eddie,_ " Buck says pointedly. 

Eddie sighs. "I know, I know, but dating as a single dad is different. There's this sort of pressure to find someone who's a good fit for Christopher too, and then if they are, what if I screw it up? Then it won't just be me who's gotten his heart broken."

Buck's heart aches for his best friend. "I guess I didn't really think about that when you asked me to help you. I thought you'd have some fun and maybe find someone you liked, but not that they might also become a part of Christopher's life too."

"Well it's _all_ I've been thinking about." Eddie says. "And yes, Chim is right and I should just take things one step at a time, but I'm worried that all I'm going to do is waste my time - _Chris' time_ \- on someone who's just going to leave."

And wow, wasn't that a feeling Buck knew all too well?

Buck reaches over to squeeze Eddie's arm. "Hey, man, I know it's scary to risk getting burned, and I get not wanting to waste your or Chris' time, but...well you kind of just _have_ to at a certain point. Relationships take work and yeah, it might suck to feel you've wasted your time if it doesn't work out, but at least you can say you tried. I mean, it's not like someone's just gonna fall into your lap and make you and Chris their top priority."

"You did," Eddie points out, surprising him. "Well, you _were_ kind of a jackass when we first met, but you got over it and when you found out I was struggling to get aid for Christopher you introduced me to Carla and...and _that_ was the moment I knew I'd met my best friend."

Buck smiles. "And here I thought it was the almost dying together that brought us closer."

Eddie laughs. "No _that's_ when I knew to replace 'jack' with 'dumb' and that you were definitely _my_ partner."

Buck laughs too, and then they're just smiling at each other - something soft and warm between them, Buck squeezing lightly on Eddie's arm. It's like for a moment the whole world stops and it's just the two of them. 

A noise from the kitchen kickstarts his brain, and Buck gets back on topic, his hand slipping off of Eddie's arm. "Well I know I set the standard pretty high, but I think if you put yourself out there the right person will come along and sweep you off your feet." 

Eddie stares off somewhere towards the TV, a pensive expression on his face. He sighs after a moment, and looks at Buck. "I'll set up a date," he says reluctantly.

"Okay, not _exactly_ the energy I was hoping for, but I'll take it," Buck tells him. He scoots closer and tosses his arm over Eddie's shoulders. "My boy's going on his first date!" He exclaims loudly, earning a few whistles and cheers from around the station.

Eddie rolls his eyes at his antics and shoves Buck playfully. "You're the worst."

Buck laughs and settles properly on the couch, him and Eddie going back to their game. 

Eddie texts him after their shift to confirm he has a date and Buck feels...well, he's _happy_ for Eddie obviously, but there's something on the edges of it, something that sours his mood and makes him eat just a little too much, and makes his apartment feel too big. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did i use the name of a dating app from a horror game bc I couldn't think up a name on my own? 100%
> 
> also okay listen, I have plans and ideas for this fic but executing any of it in a timely manner is not something I can promise.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you like this first chapter!


End file.
